Young Critters
by Karla Zabini-Longbottom
Summary: This is the story on how two little bug lovers first met. *Warning* OC character


A/N: Hiya! So this is like my first fanfic on here ^^; and yes, the little girl here is an OC, a civilian too. Ano..well yeah I hope I don't get any flames for this but well...I couldn't help it. I've always love Shino and I believe he needs love :/ so I thought, why not start at the bottom with this one shot on how these two kiddos first met? Anyways I hope y'all enjoy and I'm sorry for any grammar or typos. I did all of this on my iPhone xP

With curious, innocent, bright silver colored eyes, a tiny girl, around the tender age of four, stared at a small earthworm that wiggled itself out of a patch of soil in her backyard. Her black hair was up in two large, puffy pigtails, her straight bangs falling slightly to the side from the slight tilt of her head, her eyes glistening with curiosity. She was on her knees, dirtying her pale blue summer dress that her late great-grandmother bought for her as a gift just mere months ago.

A tan hand reached over and picked the worm out of the soil, cradling its wiggling form against her. A small grin appeared on the girls face as she shot up and rushed over into the back door, towards the kitchen, where a tan skinned, short pudgy woman was bustling around, obviously preparing lunch for two.

"Okaa-sama!" The girl shouted, startling the woman, who let out a small yelp as her grip on a pan loosened, which crashed onto the tile ground. The woman winced, as did the girl, before she sighed and tiredly picked it up before looking at her young daughter, "What is it, Amai-chan?"

The small girl, known as 'Amai', gave her mother an apologetic smile before her excitement came back to her, thrusting the worm she had in her hands into her mothers face. "Look at my new pet! Her name is Kiki!" She gushed over the wiggling worm while her mom gave it a disgusted look, "Amai-chan! How many times have I told you to not bring in these things of yours into the house?!" She scolded her daughter with a stern look before it softened slightly at the look of her daughters crestfallen face.

Amai sniffled as she looked down, hugging the worm tightly against her chest. Her mother sighed and hugged her tightly, "I'm sorry...I'm just tired." She sighed again before kissing her hair. The small girl looked up at her before smiling, even if it was a bit strained, "It's okay Okaa-sama! I'll just go put Kiki back!" She exclaimed, awfully cheerful. The older woman frowned and muttered under her breath, "Just...keep 'Kiki' in that box where you keep all those other critters in." Amai squealed and kissed her mothers cheek before happily skipping to her room.

She threw the door open, going inside. Her room was a typical girls room. It was a pale blue with silver painted butterflies scattered around. A small futon was placed in the middle of the medium sized room. There was a small desk on the opposite side of the futon that supported many see through boxes. These boxes held dozens of 'critters', ranging from butterflies to spiders to grasshoppers. Amai skipped over happily to the desk and searched for a box before finding it. 'Wormmies' were childishly painted on the front of it. It held many, different earthworms that she has found over the time. She grinned proudly and opened the top before gently placing the worm in it. "You'll love it in there Kiki!" She giggled and placed the top back on before kissing the front. She sighed happily and plopped herself on her futon, gazing softy at her precious critters. She felt so proud at the amount she had. But she needed more. Much, much more.

So, with much determination, young Amai Cho, got up and changed into much more suitable clothing, consisting of a blue shirt and black shorts, finished with a pair of black ninja shoes, which despite her being a civilian, begged her mother to buy them for her, much to the woman's dismay. She picked up a small bag and wrapped it around her waist and ran off, not even giving her mother much notice, only a kiss and a goodbye, before she was out the door.

She's always loved running. She loved the way the wind blew in her pigtailed hair, her eyes shining with happiness as she ran through the streets of Konoha. She easily weaved through the busy streets of her beloved village, her eyes only catching a few familiar faces here and there. She ran for a few more moments before reaching her destination. A bead of sweat dripped down her brow, panting heavily as she leaned on her knees. She wasn't a ninja and the way that she ran caused her muscles to scream in protest. She's injured herself enough by running many times in the past. Either way, it didn't stop her from her true goal. She had stopped by a training ground, otherwise off limits to a small girl like her but this particular training ground tended to have far more bugs than any others she's visited. She adjusted the bag around her waist a bit and took out a small container, which she kept in her hand just in case she saw something.

She walked around for a few moments, a peaceful silence lingering around the wooded training grounds. Just then, she heard a rustle from a bush. Her eyes sharply caught the movement. She crouched down and slowly crawled over to the rustling bush. She knew that it wasn't going to be a critter by how the bush was moving but she was cautious either way, keeping a tight grip on the container. Once in front of the bush, she bravely thrust her small hands into the bush and latched themselves onto...

A patch of soft hair?

She blinked and moved parts of the bush away, her eyes blinking in surprise as she caught sight of a young boy, probably around her age or older. The boy had puffy brown hair and she couldn't really see his eyes as they were covered by dark shaded glasses. He was wearing a dull green, high collared shirt that covered most of his nose and mouth and some black, loose pants, finished with some black ninja shoes, just like hers.

He was sitting down on the ground and she thought he was staring at her. They 'stared' for about a few minutes before some movement made Amai and the boy look over next to them.

Amai's eyes widened and she let out a small gasp when she caught sight of a small beetle. A grin appeared on her face. She didn't have one of those yet. So she must have it! She began to open the container, forgetting all about the boy who still sat on the ground, his glasses covered eyes staring at the girl curiously as she edge her way over to the beetle.

In less than a few seconds, the beetle was captured and settled down inside. Amai was cooing over it, her excitement visible. The boy blinked and asked her in a quiet, monotone voice, "You..like bugs?"

Silver eyes blinked and she felt herself blush before she sheepishly grinned, "Y-yeah..." She stuttered a little, "I have my own collection back at my home. I have worms, roaches, butterflies, spiders, grasshoppers, caterpillars and now a beetle!" She ended with more confidence and pride.

The boy didn't say much for a moment before he got up and neared her, his hand stuffed in his pockets, "I'm Shino..I love bugs too."

She looked up at his slightly taller structure. "Really?! Yes! I finally have a friend!" She giggled softly before grabbing his hand, "I'm Amai! Nice to meet ya Shino-kun!"

"Nice to meet you too...Amai-chan.."

She blushed again before asking him, "Wanna come over and see my collection?"

He stilled before nodding slowly, "Yes..it'll be my pleasure." She smiled and began to drag him to her home, where she proudly showed him her precious critters. They spent hours inside her room, with her mostly talking but they were content with their company.

And thus began a happy friendship between the bug lovers.

Sooo that's the end of this short lil story :3 hope y'all enjoy this and I hope it's okay that I used an OC ^^; please review! I would really appreciate them!


End file.
